History
by behindthemusic
Summary: On his way home from presenting a college lecture, Spencer Reid (accidentally) rescues a kidnap victim who has been held for ten years. However, in the end, she is the one who ends up helping him the most, in ways that neither one of them could have ever imagined. Reid/OC. T for now, but may become M in some chapters. Review please!
1. Help Me

History

Chapter One

It wasn't a good day.

Spencer clutched his steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles were turning white with exhaustion. He pressed on the gas and accelerated, although, considering the amount of snow and ice that was all around him, he probably shouldn't have been driving at all, let alone speeding. He had never been a good driver to begin with, and today was certainly not an ideal day to learn.

Spencer sighed deeply, trying to focus on the deserted road on the route back to Quantico, and he was failing miserably.

_God, you idiot_, He thought to himself bitterly. _Couldn't you just be normal for once? _

Spencer shook his head, as though he was trying to shake the negativity out of his thoughts. He was on his way back from a seminar, which had gone less than perfect, to say the least. Spencer sighed. He didn't understand why colleges kept even bothering to ask him to give guest lectures, anyway. He wasn't a people-person, in any sense of the word, let alone someone who could connect with a room of 200 hormone-driven young adults who were stuck in the limbo between needing adult supervision and wanting to start a family themselves.

Spencer turned on the radio – something that he rarely ever did while driving – in an attempt to drown out his thoughts. _Just don't think about it. It's over. No use in worrying about it now. _ Some poppy tune with absolutely no purpose or relevance began to blare through the speakers, causing Spencer to scrunch up his nose and practically retract in disdain. He looked down at the radio and instantly shut it off again, having already regretted his decision to try and listen to whatever was considered "music" these days, and when he looked back up to the road –

_What the hell?_

Spencer slammed on his breaks as hard as he could – once again, not of his greatest ideas, considering the icy weather conditions – and the car skidded to a reluctant, yet desired, stop.

His heart racing and his breath shaky, Spencer still clutched onto the steering wheel, even tighter than before. He looked out of his windshield in front of him, towards the reason that had caused him to react so drastically so suddenly.

A young woman stood in front of his car, the epitome of the cliché deer-in-the-headlights, and she appeared to be just as shocked at what had just occurred as Spencer was. Before Spencer could truly even register what – or _who_, rather – it was that he was gawking at, the girl ran to the passenger side of his vehicle, and began to tug on the car door handle.

Spencer honestly wasn't even sure what she was saying – it was something along the lines of "Oh, God, you've got to help me, please help me," – but, despite his better judgment and all of the years he had spent chasing after monsters in the FBI, he immediately unlocked his car, and allowed a complete stranger to scramble up next to him.

She slammed the door shut behind her, her breathing just as ragged as his, and surely her pulse thumping just as harshly. It took both of them a moment to even realize what was occurring; Spencer looked her up and down, trying to uncover any clue about her that could help him to figure out who she was, but his mind was racing so quickly that he simply couldn't think straight.

_Long blonde hair. Green eyes. Pretty. Dirty. Why is she dirty? She's thin. Is she sick? Wearing a nightgown. A nightgown? It's the middle of winter! She's shaking. No, wait, she's shivering. Why is she shivering? Oh, right, it's winter. She's cold._

The girl, still having not said a word since getting into the car, widened her eyes, as though she still hadn't been able to process what was going on around her. Finally, she swallowed hard, and managed to spit out, "Please, drive. Just drive."

Spencer nodded, not sensing her a threat, but rather as a victim, and pressed his foot against the acceleration, his adrenaline still racing throughout his body.

It took moments before either one of them spoke again; it was almost as though there were _too _many questions, and neither knew where to start. Finally, Spencer gathered his composure enough to attempt to understand why exactly there was a young woman no older than himself sitting next to him in _his_ car. "Who—I mean," He cleared his throat. "What's your name?"

The woman looked down, and began toying with one of her fingernails. "It's… Juliana. Julie. Julie Day."

"Julie Day…" Spencer repeated the name, its familiarity striking chords and resonating throughout his memory. "You mean, Juliana Day, as in the kidnapping victim?"

Julie practically winced, and let out a deep, labored breath. "I-I suppose you could say so."

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" Spencer trailed off. "It's just that, the Day kidnappings were over ten years ago...you don't mean to say that…this whole time…"

Julie looked up at him, and he glanced over at her as well. Her hair was disheveled, and she was lightly covered in what looked like a mixture of soot and caked-on mud. A scratch beneath her left eye had left a trail of blood down her face that had since dried. He wondered how long she'd been wandering throughout the woods before he had found her.

"Ten years?" Julie practically whispered. "Has…has it really been that long?"

Spencer looked at her sympathetically, not sure what to say. He decided to spit out facts, since, after all, that was his specialty. "You, Juliana Sophia Day and your twin sister, Jeanette—"

"Jenna." Julie repeated softly, as though it had become a foreign word to her.

"—Jeanette Marcella Day were taken from your home right outside of Washington, D.C., where you lived with your father, prominent politician Matthew George Day. It was suspected that because of your father's position and wealth that ransom was the motive, but no demands were made. Three days later, Jeanette's body turned up alongside of a riverbank only a few miles from your home, after having been tortured, with asphyxia being the ultimate cause of death. There were hardly any leads in the case, and when no more similar kidnappings were reported, it was widely assumed that you were dead as well, and that this was not the work of a serial, and the search to find you was called off." Spencer cleared his throat. "The unsub was never found and, um…your body was never recovered. Until now. And, um, it appears to me that you're very much alive."

Julie sat in silence for a moment, as though she was sinking everything in, until she suddenly turned to Spencer, her green eyes wide in a mixture of both amazement and fear. "But, how do _you_ know all of this?"

"Oh, of course," Spencer realized how frightened this girl – this _kidnapped_ girl – had to be, wondering how he possibly could know everything about her case file. "My name is Dr. Spencer Reid. I work for the Behavioral Analysis Unit within the FBI. I worked your case. Actually," He looked over at her again, "Your kidnapping case was the first real case I worked within the unit. And the first case that I ever worked that went unsolved."

Julie nodded slowly. "And…you remembered all of that? Even though it's been ten years?"

Spencer attempted a smile. "That's kind of my thing. I have an eidetic memory. I remember everything—"

"—That you read." Julie cut him off, to his surprise. Noticing his reaction, she went on. "I spent ten years locked in a house surrounded by every single book I could possibly have dreamt of. Psychological studies, medical journals, you name it. One thing that kept me sane was knowing that there was always more to learn. The pursuit of knowledge is an endless one." Julie closed her eyes for a moment, her head resting against the window.

"I – uh, I suppose I should have asked by now… Are you…alright? Um, physically, I mean. Obviously, I'm sure you've got some emotional trauma that you need to assess, but I mean, that's to be expected, especially after everything you've gone through; not to mention the social aspect. Ten years is a long time and…um…" Reid stopped babbling, realizing how greatly he was _not_ helping the situation. _God, just be normal or stop talking._ His inner voice screamed at him. "Never mind. I'm sorry."

To his surprise, Julie seemed unfazed by his rant, and when she opened her eyes, she shot him a small smile. "No, thank you, Doctor. I'm fine." She let out a deep sigh, and when she spoke again, she spoke more to herself than to Spencer. "I'm going to be fine now."

After a moment, she spoke up again, her voice getting stronger with every word that she spoke; it was apparent that she probably hadn't used her voice with another human being in quite some time. "What are the odds? An FBI agent who worked on my case comes to my rescue?" She closed her eyes yet again, her head against the window. "There must be a God out there somewhere. I guess that He decided to finally come out of retirement after a ten year break."

"Juliana—"

"Please, Dr. Reid, it's Julie."

"Julie," Spencer began again, "What…what happened to you?"

Julie let out a long breath and stared at the icy road ahead. "Well, you know the beginning. Jenna and I were taken right from our bedrooms at gunpoint in the middle of the night. He took us to this small house in the middle of the woods – absolutely desolate, no one was going to find it on their own – and," Julie sighed and gave a small, sad attempt at a nervous chuckle. "I'm sorry. I've just never had to tell this story before."

Spencer spoke up, trying to be reassuring. "It's okay. You know what? We don't have to do this now, anyway. We're about a half hour away from the FBI headquarters where I work. I'm going to call my team ahead of time to let them know we're coming, and you can get cleaned up and talk to them there. They'll put you in protective services there until we catch the man who took you, okay?"

Julie looked over at Spencer yet again. "Oh, Dr. Reid, that won't be necessary." Before he could protest, she went on. "They won't find him alive. I killed the bastard this morning."

To Be Continued

A/N: This was basically just an introduction to the real story. Obviously, Spencer/OC will develop over time. Please review, they mean a lot to me! :)


	2. It'll Be Okay

History

Chapter Two

As Spencer pulled into his normal parking spot at the BAU, he turned the car off and turned to Julie. For the first time, she seemed truly frightened, her eyes wide and her breathing increased ever so slightly.

"Are you…" Spencer trailed off, trying to find the right word to use. "…okay?"

Julie looked at him, feigning a small smile. "Yes." She said it so softly that Spencer knew it had to be a lie.

"I'll be with you the entire time. There isn't anything to be worried about." Spencer tried to console her. "You're safe now."

Julie nodded slowly, taking a deep breath. "Okay." She turned to Spencer, fixating her green eyes onto his brown ones. "I trust you."

Spencer offered her a small smile to show his gratitude before getting out of the car and leading her inside of the building.

Once inside, everything seemed to pass by in a blur. The entire team was waiting for Spencer and Julie, all of them anxious – and some of them skeptical – as to how she could have possibly been a survivor of the Day kidnappings ten years prior. However, it didn't take long before her story was confirmed; police found the cabin just where Julie had said it would be, no more than two miles east of the road where she had stumbled upon to Spencer's car, and, sure enough, inside they found the dead body of the man whom Julie claimed to be her captor.

Immediately, Julie was being led away by JJ to be asked questions, and Spencer felt almost a responsibility to stay with her. After all, he had been the one who had found her, accidentally or not. That had to count for something, and, if anything, he knew that she trusted him, which, after ten years in captivity, was no small feat. However, before he could run to catch up with JJ and Julie, he felt a hand clap around his shoulders.

"My man," Morgan called out, his ever-present grin on his face. "Look at you saving the day! Way to go, Pretty Boy. I didn't know you had it in ya." He snickered.

"Thanks, Morgan." Spencer said, ignoring – or perhaps, simply not detecting – the sarcasm in his friend's voice. "But I really don't think I necessarily saved the day. I almost ran her over, actually."

"Oh, Reid," Morgan rolled his eyes at the younger man and ruffled up his hair, much to Spencer's disdain. "Rule number one of being a hero is not trying to convince everyone else that you're not _actually_ a hero."

Morgan began to walk away, and Spencer turned to look at him, his facial expression one of obvious confusion. "But, that's because I'm _not_ actually a…" Morgan was already out of earshot. "…hero." Spencer mumbled to himself. He shrugged and turned to walk over to his desk, but before he could, Hotch called over to him.

"Hey, Reid, we need you."

Spencer bobbed across the room to his superior. "What for?" Spencer looked around, then asked another question, "Is Julie okay?"

"That's what we need your help with." Hotch explained, beginning to walk down the hall with Spencer following by his side. "You found her. Kidnapping victims tend to form close bonds with the people who they view to be their 'saviors'. In this case, that's you. She trusts you. She's not going to be as comfortable around any other member of this team – certainly not a male in a position of authority – and even with JJ, she'll be skeptical, unless you're there to tell her that it's alright." Hotch stopped in front of one of the doors along the hallway. "She's in there."

"A-Are you sure she really wants to talk to _me_? That's not really one of my strengths…" Spencer looked at Hotch, then over to the door, skeptically.

"I'm positive." Hotch responded. "She said it herself."

Spencer sighed reluctantly, but nodded in agreement to Hotch anyway, and made his way into the room where Julie and JJ sat.

Julie sat facing the door, and, upon realizing that it was Spencer who was entering the room, visibly relaxed into her chair. "Dr. Reid!" She practically exclaimed. "I'm glad you're back."

JJ smiled softly at Spencer, signaling that it was fine with her for him to do the talking.

"Yeah, I'm here Julie, don't worry. I didn't mean to get separated from you. I'm sorry."

"No, no, it's fine." She laughed nervously to herself, picking at one of her fingers. "I don't know why I'm so scared all of a sudden. The worst is over. I should feel safe now, if anything." She brushed some of her hair out of her face and behind her ear. "I'm just being stupid."

"Actually, Julie," Spencer spoke up. "How you're feeling is completely natural and expected. After kidnapped victims spend long periods of time with their captors, they tend to forget, per se, what it truly is like to live amongst a community in the outside world. The begin to lose a sense of their individuality, and feel as though apart from their captors, they can't possibly amount to anything, as their entire sense of identity is wrapped up in their lifestyle as a victim. Such was the case with Jackie Askins and Jaycee Dugard, who felt as though they were incapable of forming relationships and connections outside of the ones that they shared with their captives over all of those years that they were held hostage. In fact—"

JJ cut Spencer off from his rant, trying to spare Julie from his longwinded explanation. "What Dr. Reid, is _trying_ to say is—"

However, Julie cut JJ off as well. "I know what he was trying to say, Ms. Jareau." She turned back to Spencer, genuine interest on her face, and began to complete his train of thought for him. "Even in the case of Elizabeth Smart, who was only 14 years old at the time of her abduction, she was made to feel so incredibly worthless by her captors that she never attempted to escape out of fear of how the outside world would view her. Stockholm Syndrome; the condition of trusting and even growing fond of one's captors." Julie shrugged slightly. "It's a fascinating concept, especially utilized in popular literature; even the fairy tale Beauty and Beast hints at it."

JJ raised both of her eyebrows, looking at Julie almost disbelievingly, and she slowly turned to look over at Spencer, whom, on the other hand, couldn't help but be slightly impressed.

"You really were serious about all of those books, weren't you?" He said to Julie, with a small smile. She returned the gesture.

"Yeah, I was. There were always new books in that house; he constantly replaced them for me. He was always buying me new ones, about absolutely anything I could have dreamt of." She looked down at her hands again, deep in thought.

"Julie," JJ caught the girl's attention again. "It's okay if some of this is hard for you, or if you aren't quite sure how to feel about it all just yet. It's a lot to process, all at once. But would you feel alright with trying to tell us about it?"

Julie looked over at Spencer, who nodded assuredly at her. Julie let out a long breath, and, in turn, nodded to JJ as well.

"Good." JJ gave her a little smile. "Just tell us whatever you feel comfortable saying. Start from the beginning, in 2004."

After a brief pause, Julie began, looking at Spencer as she told her story. "Jenna and I both went to bed like any other night. It was early in the morning – 2 or 3 a.m. – when I woke up, and I could tell something wasn't right, but I didn't know what it was right away. Then I felt a presence next to me and…" Julie exhaled. "He had his hand over his mouth, and he told me that if I didn't do what he said, he'd kill my sister. Next thing I do, we were both bound and in the trunk of his car."

"And he took you to the cabin from there?" JJ inquired.

Julie nodded. "He put us in separate rooms. He—" Julie trailed off, hesitating.

"It's okay. Take your name." Spencer added softly. Julie looked up at him thankfully.

She sighed, then began again with more strength than before. "He flipped a coin. It landed on "Tales", which I suppose meant that Jenna would be…" Julie swallowed hard. "…she would be the one who died first." Julie ran a hand through her long hair and shook her head slightly. "It could have just as easily been me, you know." She looked down at her hands, still shaking her head. "But…but something went wrong. After he…killed…her, he came up for me." She closed her eyes. "Covered in blood, but his eyes…they were darting around, like he'd gone mad. And he was pale as a ghost." She opened her eyes again to look up at Spencer. "Something wasn't right. Something…had happened. He saw something he wasn't expecting or…I don't know. Something didn't go as he wanted it to." Julie shrugged slightly. "I don't know what it was, but it made him sick. He couldn't even look at me for a while; every time he tried to come in and get me, he…he just…" Julie let out a deep breath. "He just couldn't bring himself to do it. He couldn't bring himself to kill me, too."

There was a bit of a silence before Julie spoke up again. "He couldn't kill me, but he couldn't just let me go, either. I knew what he looked like, and I knew where the cabin was. I had to stay his captive, whether he wanted me to be or not. And so, for ten years, that's what I was." For the first time, Julie's eyes began to glisten over with the threat of tears. "Ten years." She repeated, mostly to herself.

After a few moments, she composed herself, wiping at the few tears that had managed to escape. "I'm so sorry." She said softly, almost embarrassed, looking down at the ground. Spencer, somehow moved by her display of emotion, walked over to the couch where she was sitting, and crouched down next to her on the ground. "You're doing more than fine. Don't apologize." He tried to reassure her. She looked up at him, and attempted a little smile.

"Do you want to take a break?" Spencer offered. Immediately, Julie shook her head. "No. I can get through this." She said softly. "But thank you, Dr. Reid."

Julie moved over slightly on the sofa, and signaled for Spencer to get up and sit next to her. He did so, and in the process, she grabbed his hand with hers. He looked down at it, surprised, but made no effort to retract.

"He never laid a finger on me after that first night, not really." Julie went on. "He kept me clothed, he fed me and gave me books, as you know. I even had a cat at one point that he let me keep." She gave a small, empty laugh. "But that wasn't until I'd been there for quite some time. It took a while until he trusted me enough to take the restraints off of me. He knew I wouldn't run. Where would I go? My sister was dead, my mother had been dead for years, and then when he told me of my father dying a few months later…" She sighed. "What was the point? I'd been gone for so long by the time he began to give me more freedom, what was the purpose of trying to run away by that point? After a while, I could do almost anything I wanted in that house, and I still never thought of running. Until this morning." She sighed, trying to process everything that happened in the past few hours alone. "I think he wanted me to kill him. He just made it so damn easy for me." After a bit of a pause, she laughed that same, empty laugh again. "You know, I never even knew his name. He wouldn't tell me." She shook her head in disbelief. "Can you believe that? Ten years with a man and I never even knew his name."

Before Spencer could even process what was happening, suddenly Julie had buried her head into his chest, her arms clutched tightly around his thin waist, her body shaking with sobs. He looked up at JJ in shock, and she met his gaze, her eyes filled with pity for the girl on his lap. Spencer looked back down at Julie, still unsure as to what exactly he was supposed to do; he normally was not the person in which victims sought out comfort. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her, his one hand stroking her back beneath her long, blonde waves of hair, as he rocked gently back and forth, trying to convince her quietly that everything was going to be alright.

To Be Continued

A/N: I hope you all like this so far! Review please.


	3. All Alone

History

Chapter 3

It took a few moments before Julie was able to compose herself enough to untangle herself from Spencer and sit back against the sofa on her own. Once she did, she was clearly embarrassed by her display of emotion, and repeatedly apologized over and over again to the two agents in the room, specifically to the young doctor sitting next to her.

"Julie," Spencer silenced the girl's apologetic ramblings. "As I said before, what you're feeling is completely expected. You shouldn't feel as though you have to apologize to me for anything."

Looking up from her hands and back at him, Julie nodded hesitantly. "I know, you said that before. I'm sor—" She caught herself before she could finish the word. She let a nervous laugh escape. "There I go again. Apologizing for apologizing." Spencer lifted the corner of his mouth ever so slightly into a hint of a smile, and she mirrored his expression. "It's just a defense mechanism of some sort, I suppose."

"Julie," JJ interjected, interrupting Spencer from replying to the young woman sitting next to himself. "Why don't we go get you cleaned up?"

Julie nodded eagerly in agreement, looking down at her nightgown that was still covered in caked-on mud in realization. "Yes, please." She stood up to follow JJ out of the room. "A shower would be nice."

JJ smiled softly at the girl, and ushered her out of the room. Spencer remained seated on the sofa, even after the two women had left him, still attempting to process all of the events that had unfolded before him. He cocked his head slightly, scoffing quietly to himself. Maybe Morgan was right, in a sense; perhaps this girl did view him as her hero after all.

…

"What do you mean by 'bad news', Garcia?" Hotch furrowed his brow, slightly frowning at the tech expert who stood in front of him, laptop propped under her arm and sympathy flooding her face.

"Bad as in very, ridiculously, extremely sad." Garcia explained herself further. Spencer, who had just reentered the bullpen in time to overhear their exchange, invited himself to impose into their conversation.

"I'm sorry, but what exactly are you talking about, Garcia? Is this about Julie?" He quipped.

Garcia looked at Hotch with pursed lips, who, in turn, nodded at her to share the information that she knew. She began with a pitying sigh. "I looked up every single possible thing I could find about her- well, you know, stuff that's happened in the ten years that she's been gone as well, of course – and it just gets sadder and sadder by the minute." She went on. "Her sister is dead, as we know – poor baby, she was only 24; her mother's been dead since the girls were in high school – cancer; and as if it can't get worse from there, her father died only a few months after his girls were taken – it made national news. He _literally_ drank himself to death, poor guy. He withered away with a broken heart." Garcia shook her head, her speech becoming even more fast-paced as she went on, almost frantically so in nature. "She's got no other siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents, _nada. _ No family or next-of-kin that we can contact at all. Not to mention that the home her father owned has since been sold, as well as all of her personal belongings, I'm sure. The girl's completely on her own. Can you imagine? Being gone for ten years only to return and realize that you've got no one – absolutely _nobody _– who is st—"

Garcia was cut off by Hotch shooting her a warning glare and Spencer practically impaling her side with his elbow, much to Garcia's disapproval. However, when she looked up to scold him, she followed his gaze, and realized why the two men had silenced her so quickly: Julie had reemerged from the team's locker rooms, JJ at her side, having freshly showered and cleansed herself of the events of the morning.

Spencer honestly could hardly recognize her, as there was almost a rejuvenation about her. Her blonde waves hung damply down her back, and her skin, having been washed of the dirt and blood that had been caked on since the morning, practically shone with a newfound youthful tone. Her eyes were some of the brightest green that Spencer had ever seen in his life, but they were lacking the sparkle that he was positive they used to hold before she had been entwined in such a nightmare.

She wore an outfit that he was sure JJ had given to her from her go-bag, and the modern, white blouse and jeans were a decent transition into societal reality when compared to the nightgown which she had been found wearing. For the first time, Spencer saw her not as simply a victim, but as a quite stunning – albeit, lost and confused – young woman, trying to pick up where she had left off in the world.

He blinked a few times, trying to take in the transition, and before he could realize it, she caught him staring at her. She gave him a small smile, but there was a curiosity within her eyes, and she turned away, embarrassed to have been captured in his intellectual spotlight.

"Julie," Hotch addressed the girl as JJ led her over to the group. "Do you have anyone that you'd like us to call? An old friend, or a past boyfriend of some sort?"

Julie peered up at him, slowly shaking her head. "There's no one who…" She trailed off, then began again. "After all this time? I'm sorry. But I wouldn't even know the first person to call. It's been ten years." She looked down, realization slowly creeping in. "I-I don't have anyone. Or anything, even. I'm sorry."

"That's not true. You've got me." Before Spencer could even process what he was saying, he had already said it. And, immediately, he knew that he shouldn't have.

"Reid," Hotch said, monotonic as always. "A word?"

Hotch pulled Reid to the side, but not before the younger man caught a glimpse of Julie, who, rather than appearing off-put at his remark, seemed genuinely shocked by his statement – and pleasantly so.

"I know what you're thinking." Hotch said, trying to keep his voice out of earshot. "I feel bad for this girl, too, but you _cannot_ just take her home with you. She's a victim."

"But Hotch," Spencer interjected, for some reason feeling assured enough to stand up to his superior. "Where else is she supposed to go? If we release her now, she doesn't even have two pennies to rub together. She'll sleep on the streets tonight if we don't do something about it!" Spencer's voice rose in pitch as he spit out the last sentence, clearly affected by the very idea of sending Julie off by herself.

Hotch sighed, trying to be the voice of reason. "Reid, I get that. But you're overlooking the major point here, that a _male_ agent cannot just decide to take a _female _victim home with him."

Spencer blinked twice, as though the thought had never even crossed his mind, or, that he honestly didn't follow Hotch's train of thought at all.

Hotch sighed yet again, and rubbed his hand across his eyes. "You just can't, Reid. I won't allow it. I agree that we can't just cut her loose, but she'll have to go home with JJ or Kate tonight."

"Hotch, that's ridiculous!" Spencer laughed anxiously, trying desperately to get the older man to reason with him. Hotch crossed his arms, but Spencer went on. "JJ has a husband and a son. Kate has Meg. I can't just expect them to take Julie home for the night." Spencer quipped along, his words hurrying together in negative excitement. "You have Jack. Morgan has his girlfriend. Rossi has… well, Rossi just has a _life._ Julie and I, this is what we have in common. I don't have anyone, either, Hotch. Just like her." He sighed, then added, "Not anymore. I've just got myself."

Hotch was silent for a moment, but his expression was stoic nonetheless; although, Spencer could swear he saw a hint of empathy within the man's hard, dark eyes. "Reid, I know you feel as though you have a responsibility to his girl, but-

"That's because _I do_!" Spencer kept going. "You said it yourself. She trusts me. She feels as though she's safe with me. And she _is_." Spencer sighed, his eyes pleading. "_Please_, Hotch. Just let me do this, for her. I just need to know that she's going to be safe, and I can't do that unless I protect her myself."

Hotch breathed deeply, his arms still crossed, as he examined the young man standing in front of him. Finally, with a long sigh, he gave in, and ran a hand through his air. "You need to make sure it's alright with her first, obviously. She needs to be comfortable with this."

Spencer shook his head eagerly with relief. "Absolutely."

Hotch looked down at Spencer, gave him some semblance of an expression that he just couldn't read, and turned away on his heel towards his office. Spencer looked around for Julie, who had moved across the bullpen with JJ and Morgan, and headed in her direction to seek her approval, a slight smile of victory and reprieve creeping across his face.

To Be Continued

A/N: This was a bit of a shorter one, but the next chapter is bound to be good, I promise. A sleepover at the Reid residence, I mean, c'mon, what's not to love? :p

REVIEW PLEASE! Let me know how I'm doing.


	4. Check Mate

History

Chapter 4

"Well, here we are." Spencer pushed open the door to his apartment, revealing the interior to Julie. He held the door open, allowing Julie to pass by first, and she smiled softly up at him before passing through into his home. He entered next, setting down next to him the suitcase of clothes that crime scene responders had eventually recovered for Julie from the cabin in the woods where she had been kept. Closing the door behind him, Spencer stood next to her in the living room, a moment of silence and stillness settling between them.

"It's very nice." Julie said, finally. She began to walk towards the large bookcases that lined his walls. She smiled at the sight of them, although hints of sadness and pain were woven within her expression as well. "I think I'll fit right in here."

Spencer lifted a corner of his mouth up into a half-smile at her attempt at a joke, although he honestly found it more dismal than humorous. "I can give you a tour of the rest of the apartment, if you'd like."

Julie turned her attention back to him, and nodded in agreement. "Absolutely."

Spencer showed the girl around, past the living area and through the kitchen, and came to stop at the bedroom that was his. He quickly brushed by her, apologetically, grabbing some of his clothes that he had left laying carelessly around the floor, and flinging them into the hamper across the room. "Sorry about that." He brushed his hair out of his face. "This is obviously my room, but I don't have a guest bedroom, so you can sleep here until…. I mean, for as long as you…. Um, I mean, until we figure out—"

Julie cut off Spencer's ramble as he fumbled with his word choice, much to his relief. "Dr. Reid, thank you so much, but really, that won't be necessary." She went on, almost sheepishly. "I already feel as though you've gone out of your way to do so much for me, I really don't want to burden you anymore by taking over your bedroom."

"Julie," Spencer replied, genuinely. "I _offered_ to do this. I want to help you. Seriously, the least that I can do is let you stay in my bedroom for a while." His smile brightened. "Anyway, it's a proven fact that I can sleep under practically any condition. Sleeping on the couch won't be troublesome to me at all."

"Well, in that case," Julie brushed by the young doctor and hopped up onto his bed. "Thank you." She laid down, eyes closed, sprawled out against the light beige sheets, inhaling deeply, and Spencer could practically feel the weight of the world being taken off her shoulders himself as she sunk down into the mattress.

Spencer leaned slightly against the doorframe, observing Julie, his mind plunging deep into thought. He couldn't help but wonder what it had to be like to finally, after ten long years, be able to lay down and rest on a bed that wasn't being provided by a captor. He nearly shuddered at the thought, and quickly brushed the idea out of his mind and Julie sat up once again, her gaze meeting his again.

"So, Dr. Reid," She hopped off the bed, and Spencer could have sworn that there was a bit more bounce in her step than before. "It's a Thursday evening. What do you do when you're not so busy chasing monsters?"

Spencer scoffed slightly, his hand resting on the back of his neck. "Well, I mean, I read a lot." He looked at Julie, almost apologetically, with a small shrug. "I don't do a whole lot else. If you were looking for an agent with a more eventful social life, I would have sent you home with Agent Morgan."

Julie chuckled at his joke, which he greatly appreciated. "Reading sounds perfectly fine by me." She said, a soft smile on her lips. "I've had enough excitement for a lifetime, anyway."

Suddenly, an idea popped into Spencer's mind. "Oh! Do you know how to play chess?"

Julie raised an eyebrow at him, her smirk still on her face. "It's been years, but sure, I've played before."

Spencer beamed at her before turning on his heal and rushing back into the living room of his apartment. Julie laughed lightly under her breath at his excitement before following after him, only to find that he had already begun to fumble over the pieces and set up the game.

"I used to have a friend at the B.A.U. named Jason who I played chess with consistently." Spencer began to ramble, his words going a mile a minute. "Not even as much of a friend, really, as a mentor. He was brilliant. I learned almost everything I know from him."

"He _must_ have been brilliant then." Julie sat down on the floor opposite Spencer, the chess set on the coffee table between them. "And one hell of a teacher, too."

Spencer looked up at Julie, whose green eyes were shining back at him. Quickly, he looked back down at the pieces on the chess board and continued arranging them. "The best." He managed to croak out, but his throat had gone unusually dry, and he could feel his cheeks burning, although he couldn't figure out why. In his flustered state, he knocked over a few of the pieces, only causing him to flush more.

If Julie noticed his reaction, she didn't show it, and instead, she reset the pieces herself, unfazed. "You'll have to give me a refresher course on this. I haven't played in ages."

Spencer snuck a hurried glimpse up at the blonde across from him, who was looking down at the chess board, hoping to jog her memory. He cleared his throat. "I'm sure once we start playing it'll all come back to you. It's all stored in your long term memory somewhere, and as long as the specific encoding cues are all present, your neurons will transfer it into your working memory without a problem."

Julie nodded at his statement, her gaze meeting his, as she moved one of her pawns up two spaces on the board. She shot him a smile. "Whatever you say, Doctor."

Spencer swallowed harshly before breaking off eye contact with her, and made his own move carefully, although his mind was racing faster than it had in quite some time. It didn't take him long to force Julie into check mate, but, in her defense, it honestly didn't take him long to force _anyone_ into check mate.

"That wasn't a dreadful first attempt for not having played in ten years." Spencer exclaimed, having taken down Julie's king.

She let out a laugh, and Spencer couldn't help but smile brightly himself at the sound of something so genuinely pleasant coming from the girl, whom he knew probably hadn't sincerely laughed at anything in such a ridiculously long time.

"'Not a dreadful first attempt'." Julie repeated, chuckling to herself. "That a nice way of saying that you _completely_ destroyed me."

Spencer laughed at her in return, surprised at how long it had also been since _he_ had genuinely made that sound as well. "Okay, okay, maybe I was trying to spare your feelings."

Julie rolled her eyes, still beaming all the while. "Well played, Dr. Reid."

Spencer hopped up from the floor, stretching his arms above his head. "You still have a chance to redeem yourself." He quipped.

Julie raised an eyebrow as she peered up at him. "Oh really? How so?"

Spencer pointed at the clock. "Jeopardy comes on TV in an hour."

"Oh, good." Julie laughed, rolling her eyes yet again. "Another chance for you to show me up with your intellect." She jumped up as well, standing within inches of Spencer. She gently poked her finger against his chest, one eyebrow still cocked. "Bring it on, Dr. Reid."

In that moment, Spencer couldn't think of a single thing to say, his lips slightly parted as his gaze focused, unbroken, on the emerald irises across from him. They couldn't have stood that way for more than a few seconds before Julie turned away, a slight smile hinted upon her lips, but to Spencer, at least, it felt like an eternity. It wasn't until the young woman had broken their stare that he realized that he had been holding in his breath.

Spencer cleared his throat and inhaled deeply, rubbing a hand across his eyes as though it would clear his mind of whatever it was trying to tell him. He hadn't felt so frazzled in such a long time, but he refused to allow his mind to wander and deal with it. If Spencer Reid had one negative quality, it was that he was superb at avoidance.

"Do you like pizza?" Spencer inquired, trying to focus on the task at hand. Julie nodded up at him with a small smile. _I wonder if she feels just as flustered_, Reid thought to himself quickly, observing her calm and composed posture, before going on. "Okay, good. I can order us some."

"You order a lot of take out, don't you?" Julie asked him with a smirk. "You just don't strike me as the cooking type."

Spencer pulled out his cell phone, beginning to type in a number from memory. "Actually, I'll have you know that I can make an excellent lasagna." Julie giggled at him, nonetheless impressed, as he began to put in their order for the night.

…

Everyone at the B.A.U had always teased Spencer for his ability to eat so much and stay so thin – even going so far as to tell him that he was a bottomless pit, much to Spencer's dismay about how anatomically absurd that theory was – but he surely had met his match with the young woman sitting next to him. As they sat an hour later, watching Jeopardy, they both had already managed to finish off the large pizza, just the two of them. "I haven't had pizza in years," Julie had exclaimed, and surely, she had proven it – he'd never seen someone so thin eat so much so quickly, and for the first time, he understood the amazement of his friends when they wondered the same thing about him.

As they sat now, side by side on his sofa, watching Jeopardy, Spencer couldn't help but be impressed by not only Julie's similar "bottomless pit" attribute, but also, by the fact that she really was a learned and literate person, as she was doing quite well at Jeopardy – almost as good as him, although, of course he was still holding a definite lead over her. Nonetheless, he was fascinated, and certainly impressed by her knowledge, and he had to admit that it simply felt nice to spend his evening watching a show in the company of another intelligent being, rather than by himself in solitude with the exception of the company of his own intellect.

As Jeopardy ended (with both Spencer and Julie winning the Final Jeopardy round), they let the TV play mindlessly in the background. Julie lifted her feet up on the sofa, her knees pulled into her chest so that she was facing Spencer, as he faced her in return, sitting cross-legged from his end of the couch.

"Thank you so much for letting me stay here, Dr. Reid." Julie said, letting the frivolity in the atmosphere of the room slowly fade away. "It means more to me than you'll ever know that I don't have to spend my first night back by myself." She let out a deep breath. "It would have been a lot to take in by myself."

Spencer adjusted himself into the couch. "Of course, Julie. I wasn't going to just let you walk out of the B.A.U. by yourself today. That would have been ridiculous." He shrugged slightly. "It's a natural, instinctual human desire to crave physical contact. It's truly in our nature to want friendship."

Julie smiled slightly, nodding her head faintly in agreement. "Well, I'm glad I've found that in you."

Spencer felt his cheeks flush softly, but this time, it was because of contentment, not because he was flustered. He was grateful that the low lighting in the room kept the girl at the other end of the sofa from noticing.

"I had friends, of course, before I…was gone. It's just…" Julie trailed off. "Ten years is too long. I wouldn't even know where to begin with them. I might as well just completely start over, because, regardless, I'd have to do that with old friends as well, too."

"That makes sense." Spencer agreed. "Sometimes all you can do is give yourself a fresh start and move on from there."

Julie paused for a moment before continuing. "I…I had a fiancé. Before… you know." She cleared her throat and shook her head, looking down at her hands as she picked at one of her fingernails. "It was about two months before I was taken, and I called off the wedding. I told him I just couldn't see myself having a life with him, you know? I told him I needed to start over." She laughed emptily. "I wasn't expecting to get it like this."

Spencer looked at her, unsure of what to say.

After a moment, Julie went on. "But, I'm one of those advocates of everything happening for a reason. It'll make sense at some point, I hope." She looked back up at Spencer with a small smile. "I mean, I've already met you because of it. That's got to be one of the reasons."

Spencer flushed deeper, returning the smile.

"I think that it's good for people to have other people." Julie said softly.

Spencer nodded slowly. "Me, too." His agreement sounded sadder than he had intended it to be, and Julie's expression softened slightly, as though she was indeed profiling the profiler, and could see each and every one of his hopes and insecurities and fears, engraved against his skin as though he were the black pages of a book and his mind had inscribed upon his flesh, just for her to read.

"Her name was Maeve." Spencer said. Julie nodded, instantly understanding. "I loved her."

Julie sat still, silently and patiently, waiting for him to go on, genuinely wanting him to tell her in his own words, although he felt as though she already knew the story. He felt compelled to reveal to her everything about himself, despite hardly even knowing her; he felt as though he had finally found someone to confide in, someone to rely on, just as so many people had requested of him throughout the years, knowing that he had no one else to whom he could tell their secrets.

"She died." As he said the words, they stung, just as they had when he had retold them to his therapist, to his mom, to his team; but for the first time, they did not feel foreign, and although it still pained him, it felt real this time, as though he could finally accept the truth, and deal with it, allowing for it to disintegrate into oblivion at last.

He didn't need to say anything more to Julie; he felt as though she understood, and what little information he had told was good enough for the both of them. It wasn't until Julie leaned forward, placing one hand gently on his lower thigh, and using the other hand to wipe away a trail of water from his cheek, that he realized he had been crying at all.

He smiled at her, and she smiled back, both of them sad, and both of them tired, and both of them broken, but still smiling, nonetheless.

…

It was the earliest hours of the morning when Spencer awoke, darkness all around him. It took him a second to realize why he was on the sofa rather than his bed, gradually remembering that he had offered his room up to Julie, and that he had taken over the living room as his own. He blinked a few times, slowly recognizing why he had woken up. He vaguely made out Julie's thin frame and her blonde hair standing a couple feet away from him, her arms crossed in front of her chest, her breathing ragged.

"Julie?" He sat up quickly, attempting to rub the sleep from his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I-" She cut herself off, as though she wasn't sure what to say. She stood with her shoulders sagging, as though all of the exhaustion in the world once again rested upon her back. She began again. "I can't sleep in there alone." She couldn't look at him, even in the dark, and he could practically sense her embarrassment.

"You had a nightmare, didn't you?" Spencer didn't need to hear her reply to know the answer.

"Every time I close my eyes, I see.." Julie whispered, more to herself than to him, and almost let out a soft whimper.

"Shh, it's okay." Spencer stood up, wrapping an arm around Julie, and guiding her down to the sofa. "You sleep here, and I'll sleep on the floor tonight. Okay?"

"No, no, I don't want to make you do that." Julie argued half-heartedly.

Spencer tucked the blanket in around her, not listening to her argument. "You're not making me do anything. I'm doing this because I want to." He grabbed an extra blanket that he had brought out earlier, and pulled it onto the floor with him. "If you need _anything_ else at all, I'm right here, okay?"

"Okay," Julie sniffled softly. She reached down and grabbed Spencer's hand, much to his surprise. She squeezed it tightly once before pulling away, and, once her hand was gone, Spencer immediately missed her touch. "Thank you so much, Dr. Reid."

"Julie," He replied. "It's Spencer. You can call me Spencer."

"Spencer." She replied softly. Spencer couldn't tell for certain, but he was almost positive that if it weren't so dark in the room, he would have seen her smiling.

To Be Continued

A/N: Yo I'm so proud of this chapter, hahaha. Tell me what you thought! I really enjoyed writing it. :)


	5. Kiss Me

History

Chapter 5

When Spencer awoke the next morning, it took him a moment to recall why he was sleeping on the floor of his living room. The events of the previous night gradually began to sweep across his memory: ordering pizza, watching jeopardy, playing chess, each with one aspect in common – Julie. Upon remembering her, he quickly jerked his head up towards the sofa, but found that she was not there.

He frowned slightly as he stood up, hastily brushing away the remaining traces of sleep, and padded around the corner in his mix-matched socks to search for his new-found and unlikely friend. As he entered into the kitchen, his shoulders relaxed slightly, and he let out a satisfied breath. Julie stood with her back to him, humming quietly to herself as she worked over his stove. Spencer, fully awake now, realized that his entire apartment smelled of pancakes.

"You know," He spoke up, causing Julie to gasp slightly and whirl around. Upon realizing that it was only Spencer, she visibly relaxed, the trace of a smile settling onto her lips. "If you were hungry, you could have just asked."

Julie's mouth spread into a full smile as she reached for the empty box of pancake batter to show him.  
>"I found this and decided I wanted to surprise you. <em>You<em> may not be the world's best cook, but I like to think that I'm not half bad." She winked at him before turning back to the pancake griddle in front of her. "At least, I _used_ to think that." She muttered softly to herself more than to him.

Spencer gave a small chuckle beneath his breath and pulled out a chair at the kitchen table. "I guess I'll have to be the judge of that, huh?" He couldn't see Julie's face, but he was sure that she was smiling.

She turned towards him, a large plate of pancakes in her hands, and sat opposite from him at the table. "I suppose so. I tried my best." She said jovially.

Spencer eagerly grabbed a few pancakes off of the top of the pile and quickly dug into them. In between a few bites, he complimented Julie on her cooking and admitted that he was indeed impressed, which earned him a smile from the young woman. As he watched her face light up at him, he instantly and involuntarily began to study her features yet again, taking in the beauty of her blonde waves and fair skin and speckled emerald eyes, and, without even noticing, he had stopped eating and instead, starting staring.

By the time he realized that he was so obviously admiring her, Julie had noticed as well, and she looked down at her lap, her smile still present, but having turned shy. Spencer felt his cheeks burn red, and his mind raced as he tried to think of something – anything – to say.

"I'm sorry for staring." He blurted out quickly. "I've honestly just never seen eyes as captivating as yours."

Julie looked back up at him with an expression that he couldn't quite read, and, before he had time to analyze it, he jumped up from the table, flustered and surprised by his own statement. "Did you know that less than 2% of the population has green eyes? In fact, many geneticists theorize that within the next one hundred years or so, the trait…will completely be..." Spencer trailed off, his eyes locked onto Julie's, as he wet his lips, nervously. "…extinct."

"Interesting." Julie murmured softly, taking a step towards the young man who stood across the table from herself, bringing the distance between them to no more than a few mere inches. She moved her finger lightly and flirtatiously up Spencer's chest, causing him to inhale sharply. "You seem to know something about absolutely everything, don't you, Dr. Reid?"

Spencer couldn't even process what was happening in front of him – or rather, to him. He'd never been an expert on his own emotions, and surely, in this moment, there were quite a few emotions that needed to be evaluated. "Julie," He managed to squeak out softly, his voice at least a pitch higher than usual. "I told you that you can call me Spencer."

Julie smiled in response, but it wasn't the lighthearted grin that Spencer had become accustomed to seeing – rather, it was a provocative one, surely lacking innocence, capable of sending a shiver of desire down the spine of the young doctor. "Right." She tilted her head, bringing her lips mere centimeters from his ear, her cheek brushing against his, her hand still clutched against his chest. Spencer wasn't sure whose heart was racing faster. "I'll call you whatever you want me to, Spencer."

With a quick exhale of breath, Spencer felt his cheeks flush, his heart surely ready to jump out of his chest and explode in anticipation. He could feel everything at once – her breath against his neck sending chills down his entire body, her hand resting ever so comfortably and desiring against his chest, the sound of utter longing within her words as they pressed against his ear. He could practically play the scene out in his head – it wouldn't take more than a slight shift of his head to bring his lips against hers, finally releasing all of the hidden tension and want that they had been concealing from each other since the night before, using their bodies to express how –

He couldn't do this.

"I – I just remembered," He pulled himself away from Julie, and couldn't bring himself to look her in the eye, as he was sure that they'd be beautiful and confused and possibly even hurt. "I- I'm going to be late for work. I'm sorry." He practically ran out of the kitchen to his bedroom, leaving the blonde standing alone, utterly perplexed at what had went wrong.

…

Spencer showed up to work nearly an hour early. He sat at his desk, unable to focus on anything for longer than two seconds at a time, his mind continuously racing back to the events of the morning. He practically winced every time he replayed the scene in his head, wishing that it could have played out in any other way than how they actually had. So engrossed in his thoughts, Spencer didn't even hear Morgan approach him or call out his name until the third attempt.

"Reid," Morgan repeated yet again. Spencer snapped out of his thoughts and focused his gaze onto Morgan, clearing his throat awkwardly. He knew he'd been caught red-handed even before Morgan spoke up again.

"What's up with you, man? What are you so distracted about?" Morgan furrowed his brow, genuinely concerned.

Spencer sat back in his chair, letting out a long breath before responding. He swallowed, frowning slightly, deep in thought. "Lila Archer."

Morgan frowned deeper, looking at his friend skeptically. "Lila Archer, as in your little famous romantic fling from a few years ago? Okay… yeah, kid, I don't follow."

Spencer sighed. "I just…" He trailed off, before beginning again. "Do you remember how attached she was to me? But at the end of the day, it was just because she viewed me as her hero. She thought that I saved her life, and that's why she was so attracted to me."

Morgan tensed slightly, beginning to understand the point Spencer was trying to make. "Let me guess. The damsel in distress that you saved yesterday has decided to pull the same card?"

Before Spencer could respond, JJ appeared, leaning again the side of his desk. "Hey! How're you guys this morning?"

Morgan snickered, mischief weaved within the smile on his face. "I'd say Reid over here is more than fine. He's convinced the kidnap victim who's living with him to fall in love with him."

JJ's eyes widened, and she turned to face Spencer, who already was hiding his face in his hands. "This is why I shouldn't have even told you." He practically whined.

Morgan chuckled. "Oh, c'mon pretty boy. It's not that bad. You're probably just worrying over nothing. Maybe she genuinely does like you, regardless of whether you're her hero or not."

Spencer let out a disbelieving scoff.

JJ shrugged in agreement with Morgan. "Hey, Derek might be right, Spence. You're a catch!" She nudged Spencer in the side, gaining a small slimmer of a smile from the young man.

"Maybe." He shook his head. "But I doubt it. I mean, c'mon. Have you seen her?" He let out a breath. "She's lovely."

Morgan and JJ shared a knowing glance, and JJ grinned over the brim of her coffee cup. "It sounds like she's not the only one who has some feelings here, kid." Morgan teased, although his words were sincere. Spencer blushed, but didn't say anything.

"Here's my advice," JJ pitched in. "Tonight when we go home, just talk to her. You'll be able to tell where to go from there." She patted Spencer reassuringly on the back before heading away towards Hotch's office, and Morgan shot him one last grin before bounding over to his own desk to start his work for the day.

…

After a rather uneventful office day, Spencer was eager to get home, yet nervously so. He entered his apartment, where Julie sat on the sofa, a book in one hand and a cup of tea in the other. Spencer felt his heart begin to race already. He found her to be perfect.

Julie looked up at him, clearly just as nervous, and Spencer couldn't help but feel apologetic for how uncomfortable he must have made her after the awkward exchange they had that morning. She shot him a small smile, closing her book and setting down her drink. "How was work?"

"It was good." Spencer smiled lightly back. "Really good." Silence. "Listen, Julie,"

"I know I was out of line this morning." She cut him off, her gaze down at her lap. "I shouldn't have behaved that way and I'm sorry."

"Oh," Spencer said. He paused for a moment, but then shook his head and went on. "No. No, you shouldn't be sorry. I don't want you to be sorry." He swallowed forcibly, gathering up his courage. "Julie, I think I like you. Romantically I mean. Well, what I mean is that I am clearly physically attracted to you, for obvious reasons. And emotionally I think I am as well. And I wanted to kiss you this morning and I didn't because I was scared that you only like me because you think I saved your life and so for that, _I _am sorry, because I shouldn't have assumed that."

Julie looked up at him, surprised, her eyes wide. After what felt like an eternity to Spencer, she replied. "I- I think I would know if I were only attracted to you because I thought you were my 'hero'. And Spencer, I genuinely don't think that's what it is." She smiled shyly at him. "Physically, I'm also attracted to you for also obvious reasons, and emotionally, well," She stood up from the sofa, once again standing mere inches from the young doctor. "I think so, too."

"Well now that we've settled that," Spencer rested his hand against the side of her face, and she nuzzled up against his touch. "May I kiss you, Julie?"

She grinned at him, wrapping her hands around the back of his neck, her lips stopping just a whisper away from touching his. "Please do."

TO BE CONTINUED

A/N: Sorry for the wait – holidays and such. Hope you had a great holiday season as well! Review please.


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